1. Field of the System
The present invention relates to grips for hand railings or other hand support systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to grips which are releasably adhered to railings or other hand support systems.
2. Prior Art
Hand railings are in use throughout the world to assist in human activity such as standing, sitting down, ascending and descending a stairway, entering or exiting a moving vehicle, walking, etc. Maintaining a secure, comfortable grip is extremely important when operating or using various hand-held apparatuses or, more importantly, simply for safety purposes when grasping any type of railing. Bare railings are used for hand supports by users, standing, or sitting, or while entering or exiting a vehicle. Bare railings, whether they are constructed from any type of metal, plastic, wood, glass, concrete or composite material can be slippery, or coarse and inconvenient to hold onto with bare hands. Furthermore, uncovered railings located in moving vehicles such as subway train cars, light rail transit cars, transit buses, trams, street cars, trolley cars, recreational vehicles, etc., are unsafe when the vehicle is in motion and especially when turning. Typically, such railings are extruded shapes, such as a circular tube or another similar shape made for the human hand to grasp. Additionally, these railings are usually constructed from durable metal, such as stainless steel, but may also be constructed from wood or various other substances.
Such typical hand railings, however, do not provide a positive gripping surface, which would still further assist in the corresponding human activity associated with the hand railing. Some of the present gripping devices include molded plastic cylindrical grips which are installed and include cross-sectional sections designed to fit the human hand as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,096 to Auroura, rigid hand railings having a plurality of finger sized indentations, U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,267 to Schmitt, et al. and rail covering systems for outdoor decks as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,519 to Baldassarre. Still other gripping devices include removable foam grips that are wrapped around a bar each time a user wishes to use a bar as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,756 to Rozenich. This type of grip is typically used for weightlifting equipment. The grips to date involve either railings with built in grips or grips that are, for the most part, permanently attached to the railings, while other grips are not attached at all, rather they are easily removed and transferred from bar to bar.
To date, no grips have been designed which will conform to any railing surface or shape and which are releasably attachable to such railing surface. Hence, there is a need for a grip which will conform to any railing type and which will attach to any railing surface regardless of the type of surface or type of material used as the grip and a grip which is releasably attachable to the railing.
Further, to date no grips have been designed that have safety features incorporated into the grip, which will enable a user to use the grip to achieve safety even in the most detrimental conditions. Hence, there is a need for a grip which has textured surfaces to generate additional friction for gripping, some of which are readable to vision impaired persons, illuminated surfaces to guide the user to safety, sound emitting technology incorporated within the grip to guide the user to safety, and anti-bacterial agents to prevent the spread of disease.